What is Dungeon & Dragons? Roleplaying or other?

One of the more interesting articles I’ve read in awhile touches upon what Dungeons & Dragons really is, and what religious groups have traditionally thought it was. Since D&D pretty much started it all, I’m posting the link up here because it’s fascinating as well as enlightening. Here’s a bit clarifying the disparity between conventional religious beliefs and the reality of Dungeons & Dragons:

Common beliefs among conservative Christians: They often oppose fantasy games because of the alleged occult content of the games. They frequently state that RPG rule books include poison recipes or methods of summoning demons, etc. This appears to be a misunderstanding. A very few games have printed spell incantations from folk and ceremonial magick, but most do not. A gamer who wants his pretend character to cast a spell in order to protect itself from attack might simply say to the GM “I am casting a healing spell now.” Note that neither the player nor their character actually casts a spell or practices magick. The player simply describes what the imaginary character is doing. Gaming is basically an adult version of make believe. It does not promote actual black magic or manipulative magick.